Radiorum

The Trump administration has taken control of who has media access to the White House. You don't think that will have an influence on what is reported? In the words of Karoline Leavitt - and they have the nerve to frame it as though they are giving some type of power to the people! Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt said that the White House Correspondents Association (WHCA) had "long dictated" which journalists were in the so-called "pool," the small group of journalists given access to "intimate spaces." "Not anymore. I am proud to announce that we are going to give the power back to the people who read your papers, who watch your television shows and who listen to your radio stations," Leavitt said. "Moving forward, the White House press pool will be determined by the White House press team."

Trump has posted an AI-generated video of his vision for Gaza. It’s garish, grotesque and offensive. Never mind that his plan would fly in the face of international law, and there’s that little matter of ethnic cleansing, the video also features a gargantuan statue of Trump embossed in gold, a clear indicator he is leading a cult and sees himself as their god.

It’s difficult to get accurate numbers about just how much DOGE has saved the government. Musk claims $65 billion, but according to this article, that number is wildly inflated. Now – Musk plans to fire 7,000 IRS employees – with 5,000 of them in the enforcement and collections department. This is happening at a time when the tax evasion of millionaires and billionaires tops $150 billion a year. Guess they will write that off. Add to that Trump’s tax cuts, which will cost $400 billion a year. If they keep the IRS employees on the job and collect what they are owed, they would not have to upend thousands of lives or government services, (not to mention destroying American soft power around the world with the dismantling of USAID and its humanitarian projects) and they would still come out way on top. Instead, they get the little guy and give even more to the millionaires and billionaires. It makes no sense (unless you are rich).

Navalny never incited a war. Calling for justice does not incite a war. Let's be clear. Putin is the warmonger. Putin invaded a sovereign country. Putin poisoned, imprisoned and murdered someone who dared to oppose him.

Control of the media is one of the first strategies of authoritarian governments. In fact, a congressional paper has cited it as one of the reasons we see a backsliding today of democracy around the world: Erosions in press freedom may be both a contributor to, and a symptom of, current global trends of democratic backsliding and rising authoritarianism. Many experts describe the presence of a free, independent, and pluralistic media sector as an essential condition for genuine and wellfunctioning democratic governance. They see a free press as critical to holding governments accountable to the public and helping citizens make informed decisions about political leaders and policies. Analysis of trends in backsliding democracies has reinforced this view, with efforts to undermine press freedoms identified as a common early indicator of broader democratic breakdown Global Trends in Democracy and Authoritarianism: Challenges to Press Freedom

Here is the explanation X gave, and it really begs the question - How do they define "manipulation?"

For whom?

No, no, no, no, no.

A video is posted to X vowing to fight for a free Russia. The poster's account is soon suspended. Then, X realizes, the blowback to suspending Yulia Navalny, the widow of Alexei Navalny, Putin's critic who was imprisoned and murdered for daring to speak out, might not make for good press. They re-instate her account. You see, you're not allowed to say "Putin killed Alexei." on X. https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-68350222

Ask yourself, seriously, who has more motivation to lie? The ones who stand to profit, or the ones trying to help out the most vulnerable Americans?

Read the published date under the title That they reissued it with a new date makes them really shady. It's not rocket science. If there is no-one working at Social Security or at the Labour department, service is going to suck

That poll was originally published a year ago! It's irrelevant. Published Date February 24, 2024 And it seems really shady. Of course people want efficiency. But that's not what is happening now. Here's a more recent (Feb. 19, 2025) poll for you - More Americans have an unfavourable view of Musk (and Zuckerberg) than a favourable view Just over half of U.S. adults (54%) say they have an unfavorable view of Musk, including 36% who have a very unfavorable opinion of him. Two-thirds of Americans have an unfavorable view of Zuckerberg. This includes 26% who are very unfavorable toward him. Here's another poll: When asked whether respondents approved or disapproved of the job that Musk is doing within the federal government, a net 34 percent approve compared to 49 that disapprove. The poll, carried out on February 13 – 18, found that 52 percent disapprove of Musk shutting down federal programs that he deems unnecessary, compared to 26 who approve. What lie?

OMG, the cuts Musk is making are barely making a dent in the total federal spending. But they will severely impact lives. Meanwhile, Trump's tax cuts will cost $4 TRILLION dollars over the next decade. You support that?? Where is your head at?

This is what different commentators are saying. That Trump and Musk will self-destruct.

You don't care about American democracy, the functioning of government, or the American people? You don't care that many, many real people are going to be hurt by this? You are the exemplar of the real derangement syndrome.

The International Space Station (ISS) is a large space station that was assembled and is maintained in low Earth orbit by a collaboration of five space agencies and their contractors: NASA (United States), Roscosmos (Russia), ESA (Europe), JAXA (Japan), and CSA (Canada). As the largest space station ever constructed, it primarily serves as a platform for conducting scientific experiments in microgravity and studying the space environment As of 24 October 2024, 281 people representing 23 countries had visited the space station, many of them multiple times. The United States has sent 167 people, Russia has 61, Japan has sent 11, Canada has sent nine, Italy has sent six, France and Germany have each sent four, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the United Arab Emirates have each sent two, and there has been one person from Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Denmark, Israel, Kazakhstan, Malaysia, Netherlands, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey and the United Kingdom As of February 2025, nasa.gov states that there are 43 different modules and elements installed on the ISS. https://www.nasa.gov/international-space-station/international-space-station-assembly-elements/ Musk wants to shut it all down in favour of a contract for him to go to Mars. (reminds me of SpaceX pushing out Verizon for the FAA contract)

They are burning it all down. There’s no rationality here, only a bent to destruction. They see the government as the enemy, the very government they are supposed to be administering. The government will no longer serve.

Anyone who says this is about waste and fraud is living in la-la land. This is Trump taking revenge on the US. Social Security Administration leadership is under instruction to swiftly produce plans to cut its staff by half, according to two employees at the agency who spoke on the condition of anonymity for fear of retaliation. And an office within the Labor Department that enforces equal employment opportunity laws is developing a plan to reduce its workforce by 90 percent, an internal document shows. DOGE barrels toward a fresh round of firings, the most widespread yet

Yes, it's true, as corrupt and cruel as it sounds. The US House of Representatives passed a budget resolution (H Con Res 14, 119th Congress) that includes deep cuts to Medicaid, advancing the Republican-led plan in a 217-215 vote The budget resolution proposes $880 billion in Medicaid cuts over a decade, affecting nearly 80 million Americans. The resolution is part of a GOP plan to enact $4.5 trillion in tax cuts while addressing the national debt limit. https://www.ajmc.com/view/house-passes-budget-resolution-cutting-billions-from-medicaid-funding One of the most controversial provisions allows states to impose work requirements for Medicaid beneficiaries, a move that could eliminate coverage for millions. (Maybe they are going to bring back workhouses. They seem pretty Dickensian)

They were working for him and getting their instructions from him. The examples are in the news everyday. This is one of the stupidest things you've ever said. They gave up their livelihoods - their paycheck - for principle, something I don't think you understand.

God, do you read at all? They resigned from DOGE. Oh, you mean, they weren't in the cult, like you? Their concerns are legitimate.

And even as Musk slashes the FAA workforce, his SpaceX secures a $2 billion dollar contract with the FAA/government.

Oh, please. Musk is an even bigger liar and propagandist than Trump. Blatant lies. Look, everyone is turning against Musk. Even his own team - 21 technology staffers - resigned on him Here's what they said in their resignation letter: "We swore to serve the American people and uphold our oath to the Constitution across presidential administrations," the 21 staffers wrote in a joint resignation letter, a copy of which was obtained by The Associated Press. "However, it has become clear that we can no longer honour those commitments." "We will not use our skills as technologists to compromise core government systems, jeopardize Americans' sensitive data, or dismantle critical public services," they wrote.

Around the world, democracy is regressing rather than progressing. The global average dropped to a new record low of 5.17, down from a high of 5.55 in 2015. Just 6.6% of the world’s population now lives in a full democracy, down from 12.5% ten years ago. And a large share of the world’s population—currently two in five people—lives under authoritarian rule.